Waiting on a Rocket
19 November 2016
We left Daytona Beach Friday morning and thought we had timed the bridge openings perfectly, we got through the first one without a hitch and thought we would have a slight delay for the second one. However, much to our surprise we found the second one had been torn down in the last few months so we were on our way to Titusville without any delays. There are always lots of dolphins around but we never tire of seeing them, however today was a day to watch out for manatees. The DNR has signs posted all along the waterway warning people to watch out for them as well as frequent reminders on the radio. We saw at least two dozen and they are quite a pain as they laze around in the channel just below the surface causing numerous panic turns as people try to miss them. Despite our efforts we had at least one good thump with the keel and we were in 13 feet of water at the time. We arrived in Titusvlle after another pleasant day of motor sailing and found a quiet anchorage for the night.
Saturday morning we moved 5 miles south and have anchored just south of the NASA Causeway Bridge where we hope to have a good view of the rocket launch today. NOAA is launching a new satellite to improve weather monitoring and it is scheduled to blast off shortly after five on a Gemini 5 rocket.
People say the definition of cruising is fixing boats in exotic locales and I can attest to that a bit. Yesterday when we went to anchor the windlass would not drop the chain; I found a wire had broken in the down switch so we quickly jury rigged it and settled in for the night. Fortunately, I had extra switches so today I changed the up side as well since it is the same age and we all know about Murphy's Law.
Time for a cold one.